Archive for the 'Community Events' Category

Treasure Valley Fireworks, Something For Everyone

July 1st, 2008 categories: Community Events

Melba– Very popular, large display of fireworks draws spectators from all over the valley. Starts at dusk centered around the high school. Staged in this small, country town helps the traffic to disperse quite quickly, though it’s always nice not to be in a rush. Great small town atmosphere with a big parade in the morning. They do have events through out the day, a craft fair, tractor racing and good food. Though not much shade to whittle the day away until the fireworks. I personally would not plan on staying all day but return for the evening events. Melba Fireworks

Eagle– Great chance to meet all your neighbors at Eagle’s fireworks display. Music prior to the fireworks will be a great background for your picnic in the shade of the trees at Eagle Island State Park. Eagle Fireworks

Boise– Plans to be bigger and better than last year. This fireworks display is played to music (simulcast on 107.1 K-Hits.) so bring your radio. Also part of the festival includes pancake breakfast and a parade. Centers around Ann Morrison park, starts at dusk (10:20?) More traffic to content with so plan on after fireworks activities to allow the traffic to thin. Plenty to do in downtown Boise until the fireworks. Boise Fireworks

Tags: Fireworks, Boise, Melba

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How Gas Prices Are Effecting Rural Residential Living?

June 25th, 2008 categories: Community Events, Real Estate News

“More and more Americans will choose to be middle-class in the country than scrape-by, oil poor in the suburbs.”

An interesting statement made by Curt Seltzer, land consultant and author of How To Be a DIRT-SMART Buyer of Country Property www.curtis-seltzer.com.

In his recent article Sooner Than Later We Will Change, he theorizes why he thinks people will choose to live in the country even when gas prices reach $8.00 a gal.

Having talked with those choosing to move out of Kuna and those that are looking to buy in Kuna, it’s all a matter of perspective and choice.

So I am taking a poll. I’m curious what people thing about gas and rural living.

Home prices are relatively thousands less than comparables in Boise. So there is the choice of paying for taxes and housing versus paying for gas. The average price for a 2000 sq ft home in Boise is $23,000 more than Kuna.

Living in Boise also could involve driving to social events, kids sports, and shopping that takes you all over the city. You would avoid the drive into town everyday but whether you would do more driving if you lived there…..?

Usually small towns mean things are centrally located and within a short drive or even close enough for a bike trip or walk.

So even though people in small rural settings don’t like the idea of their towns getting a Walmart, industry or changing too much, Kuna could benefit greatly with the addition of some shopping and jobs!!

Other options being tossed around is the need for public mass transit opportunities for those that do travel to Boise. As the Kuna Melba news reported last week, there has been a steady increase in participation of the ACHD commuteride.

There is also been talk of companies going to 4 day work weeks and telecommunicating to reduce driving. Smart!

So what do you think? Are people willing to live in a more economical town where everything is close, driving less while you are here. Choosing to working out of their home, carpooling, and combining trips to help make it affordable enough to enjoy and live in a rural community? I would love some feedback.

Picture taken by Neato Coolville See more of his pictures

Tags: gas, Kuna, rural

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What Does Kuna Have Plenty Of? Subdivision Building Lots

June 6th, 2008 categories: Community Events, Real Estate News

May 2008 Kuna has 242 building lots being advertised on the Multiple Listing Service.

23 of those building lots are not in subdivisions.

Kuna is still growing and people are still choosing to drive to this community to live.  How long will we have this kind of supply, even if sales picked up? I’m thinking we will have an abundance to choose from for a few years. Even if these sell, there is lots more land just waiting to be developed.

Subdivisions in Alphabetical Order

Applewood– One of the newest with a few houses built for show. It is located off Hubbard/ Ten Mile North of Kuna. Lots start at $54,900.Applewood

Arrowrock Ranch– Large almost Acre Lots South East of Kuna.  Luxury Custom Built Homes. Stricter CCR’s. Only a couple lots left $104,900

Belmont Heights–Nampa address, Kuna Schools, 1 acre lots perfect for horses. Only a few lots left, some with daylight basement possibilities . Located north of victory on McDermott. $162,500

Denali Heights– One of the most exciting subdivisions in Kuna, large lots with upscale homes. Swimming pool and city park add to the nice things this community offers. Located North of Kuna on Hubbard.  $75,000  Denali Heights

Iron Horse– Luxury homes and large acre lots. North of Kuna west of Ten Mile on Columbia   $189,000

Mineral Springs– North part of Kuna, close to schools and conveniences. Large Lots and promises of water features and walking paths. $60,000 Mineral Springs

Placerville– 62 lots available in this new subdivison south side of Kuna off of Ten Mile. No building going on yet. $70,000

Regal View– Two lots available. 2.5 acre for 250K and 4.74 acres for 400K  Small subdivision on a bluff over looking Kuna on its south side off of King Rd

SchoolHouse–  Only 20 lots left and priced to sell! $37,000!  South of Kuna off of School Rd,.School House

Sutter’s Mill – Just a small part of this subdivision is not built out.Advantage being you can see what this neighborhood looks like. Custom built homes.  South of Kuna off of Ten Mile.  $79,900

WillowGlenn – Close to Schoolhouse subdivision, South side of Kuna off of School Rd. $39,900.

What has sold this year in Kuna?  42 Lots have sold or are pending  this year. One in Denali Heights, one in Willow’s Glenn, and 2 in Applewood.

The majority of lots are pending in the Schoolhouse Sub (19) and 17 lots sold to CBH homes for building in Crimson Point

New construction has slowed in Kuna. But you can be assured that we will always be growing and have need for more housing.

 

 

 

 

 

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Google Street View Is Available In Most Of Ada County

June 2nd, 2008 categories: 3 Legged Horses, Community Events

Internet users who click on the “Street View” box on Google Maps (maps.google.com), will be able to peek at images from streets in the Boise and surrounding communities including Kuna. The views were stitched together from images taken by Google employees over the past year from cars and vans equipped with cameras.

The feature, which already captures street scenes more than 15 cities across the country, has become popular among people planning vacations, searching for shops or restaurants, or checking out landmarks such as Wrigley Field in Chicago or the Empire State Building in New York

Now it can be used to check out a neighborhood when considering a move to a new community. This is a great tool to use to see what is around the house you are looking at. Some things do not show up on the video that the real estate agent advertises with for a reason. 

Of course this is just another tool, and does not take the place of actually being there. I noticed on our street it must have been on a very hot day in the middle of the summer. It did not capture the best part of the day.

There were complains about privacy issues, everything from photos of recognizable men entering adult bookstores to an image of a cat in a window has shown up on street views.

“We take privacy concerns seriously,” said Stephen Chau, product manager for Google Maps. “All these images are taken on public streets. It’s exactly what you could see walking down the street.”

This is another good reason to keep the front of our homes in tip top shape. If I would have known they were in my neighborhood we would’ve fixed that dead spot in our front lawn!  Now when we list our house, that dead spot will glare out at any inquisitive customers that use this google feature.

At least I wasn’t standing in my robe on the front porch!

The service covers only certain streets and neighborhoods in the cites where it’s now available, although in some locations, such as the Treasure Valley, the majority of streets have been photographed. Google plans eventually to extend Street View to cities and towns of all sizes worldwide.

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Looking For A Home With Acreage In the Kuna School District?

May 12th, 2008 categories: Community Events, Real Estate News

So you’re searching for a home with a little bit of land for your horses, kids or for your peace of mind.  And you really want to keep the kids in the Kuna Schools.

So you look in the Kuna area right? 

You could be missing lots of great properties if you limit your search to a Kuna address.  The Kuna School District is very large and covers property with a Nampa, Meridian and even Boise addresses.

As a matter of fact some of the nicest subdivisions with 1–4 acre lots are not in Kuna. 

 Map of School Boundary

Larger acre lots tend to be West of Kuna into the Nampa area. Some great equestrian subdivisions, like Aram Estates, Belmont Heights, and Lexington Meadows are in the Kuna School District but are in Canyon county with a Nampa address.

Some areas north of Columbia Rd as far as Lake Hazel and in some areas even further north, have a Meridian address but the kids attend Kuna.  Danskin, Chisum Valley, Saddle Ridge and numerous small subdivisions with 1 acre or larger properties are scattered north of Kuna.

Around the Boise Ranch Golf course you will find various properties within the city of Boise but the kids attend Kuna Schools. 

So if you really want to be sure you are seeing all your options, start with an agent that is familiar with this area.

When you search for your piece of Idaho, be sure you use criteria that is most important. If it is the school district, leave the city names out of the search.  If you don’t want to live in a subdivision, there are ways to eliminate those in your search too. That way you will be seeing all the options that are important to you.

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The Smart Growth Award For Ten Mile Interchange

May 5th, 2008 categories: Community Events, Real Estate News

A new interchange is needed at Ten Mile Road to access the Interstate, relieve traffic congestion, improve emergency response times to the area, and provide an additional north-south arterial through western Ada County

The City of Meridian has some very exciting plans for the Ten Mile Interchange that not only involves traffic but the entire scope of the community development.

The City of Meridian’s comprehensive plan for the area surrounding the future Ten Mile Interchange has been awarded a 2007 Grow Smart Idaho award for Policy and Planning by Idaho Smart Growth. This annual competition recognizes projects that use smart growth principles to encourage vibrant communities .

Map of comprehensive plan for Ten Mile area

The City’s hope is that this plan will allow for all the intricate parts of a community, including recreation,green spaces, commercial, and residential to work together and shape the outcome of this area. Hopefully resulting in an end product that will benefit its property owners and residents, and the community as a whole.

Of course this will involve change to an area that has been able to avoid change for quite sometime. The quiet country side will now be a outlet for the increase in traffic and I’m sure the citizens are not looking to be part of that solution. With this smart growth plan there is hope that this area will increase in value and not just increase in problems.

So many times these road improvements goals are just to solve a traffic problem. I think the City of Meridian did a good job of looking at the potential for development and capturing that issue before it became a unplanned hodge podge. Requiring developers to fit into their plan instead of the city having to work around the developers plans. Smart!

Tags: Ten+Mile+Interchange, Traffic, Ada+county

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Vacant Homes in Kuna

May 2nd, 2008 categories: Community Events, Real Estate News

There will always be a certain amount of homes for sale that are vacant, including resale and new construction. 

Right now there are 285 homes for sale in Kuna, 48% of those are empty!  Wow 78 new homes and 59 used residential for a total of 137 vacant homes.  That is not something we are use to seeing in Kuna.

Luckily for Kuna, these homes are  spread out over all of Kuna and not concentrated in one area.  According to the Kuna Police Dept they are not having problems with these vacant homes.  The best thing neighbors can do is watch for trouble.  If you see kids congregating around a vacant house especially after curfew, just give them a call and they will check it out.

So why is this important to know? 

• We need to help by keeping an eye on empty homes for our neighbors and community
• If you are selling, you need to price your home to sell.

1. There are lots of vacant homes which have owners that really motivated to sell!
2. Don’t make it difficult for buyers to see your home. Putting any restrictions on showings will kill your chance to sell.
3. Don’t have your house on the market unless you are ready to beat the competition.

• If you are buying, there are lots of homes to choose from with
1. easy accessibility
2. quick closing dates and
3. great prices.

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One More Reason To Love The Treasure Valley

April 26th, 2008 categories: Community Events

Award Winning Golf Courses

A great amenity to our community is the Falcon Crest Golf Course. Ranked #5 in Idaho in Golf Weeks 2007 Best Courses You Can Play

Falcon Ridge Added to Idaho’s Golf Trail

Why do so many people love the Boise area? Maybe because residents get to enjoy four distinct seasons but also have weather moderate enough to allow an average of 325 golfing days a year. Because of this perfect golf weather there are plenty of golf courses to choose from in the area.

Complete List Of Area Golf Courses

People also make the trek west because of our low crime rate, reasonable cost of living, low unemployment rates and wonderful opportunities for the outdoor enthusiasts. range from hiking and biking in the foot hills, to challenging dirt bike trails in the Owyhee’s. Enjoy a short trip to area ski resorts for all types of winter fun. Or just enjoy the surrounding public lands for snowmobiling, cross country skiing,fishing or nature viewing.

Outdoor fun can be as simply as enjoying the Boise greenbelt, miles of paved pathways along the river’s edge, provides glimpses of the beautiful scenery and wildlife in the area.

Be sure to check out the golf courses if you are a golf enthusiast and moving into the Treasure valley.

Tags: golf, courses, Boise, Kuna

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Mother’s Day Gift Ideas: Treasure Valley Baskets and Gift Shop, Kuna Idaho

April 18th, 2008 categories: Community Events, Some Of My Favorite Things

Do you need to send your Mom something special for Mother’s Day? My mother loves flowers, but they don’t last long ( of course that’s what some people like about them!).   But if you are longing to send something special and unique and you need it delivered, call Treasure Valley Baskets and Gift Shop.

This great gift shop features wonderful basket ideas and products plus unique gifts ideas for the whole family.  They have  recently expanded and  moved to 173 4^th St.(the building behind Vic’s Pharmacy)

This shop has something to fit everyone’s gift essentials including your pets.  They carry baby clothes, gifts  for the gardener on your list, gourmet foods and an assortment of whimsical, decorative and practical ideas. Renee is also carrying some local artisan work in her shop.  

Treasure Valley Baskets will deliver to anywhere in Kuna for free! That is a big plus if you forgot your wife’s birthday, or you have family here in Kuna and can’t be there to celebrate their special day.

They will handle your gift with the same love and care that you would. They have some great inventive ways to present your wishes, from baskets to cute and crazy or just ordinary gift wrapping. Simply let Renee know what you need and she’ll come up with a great idea for you.

Visit their website at TVGiftandBaskets.com  or call  (208)922–4823.

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Don’t Miss the Egg Hunt In Kuna Idaho

March 14th, 2008 categories: 3 Legged Horses, Community Events

Kuna’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt has changed locations.  Don’t miss all the fun by showing up at the wrong place.

Because this year’s scramble is promising to be bigger than ever, it will be held at the Kuna High School, 10:00 am Saturday March 22^nd Just follow the crowd.

 

Get the word out to all your kids playmates, so they don’t miss the fun.

 

If hunting eggs is not on your schedule of things to do Sat. March 22^nd, consider this event.  Get involved in your community to take care of our city’s trees. 

 

What a wonderful, fun, opportunity to help beautify Kuna and also show the city fathers how important our city parks and recreation department are to revitizing our community.  10:30 am City Hall, 763 Avalon St.

 

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